NASA X-43
The X-43 is an unmanned experimental hypersonic aircraft with multiple planned scale variations meant to test various aspects of hypersonic flight. It was part of NASA's Hyper-X program and has set several airspeed records for jet-propelled aircraft. The X-43 is the fastest aircraft on record at over 6,500 miles per hour (10,461 Km/H).
A winged booster rocket with the X-43 placed on top, called a "stack", is launched at speed from a larger carrier plane. After the booster rocket (a modified first stage of the Pegasus rocket) brings the stack to the target speed and altitude, it is discarded, and the X-43 flies free using its own engine, a scramjet.
Read more about NASA X-43: Development, Design, Testing, Variants
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